If you’re the type that regularly falls asleep in history class, you might need to go to the upcoming dance concert, “Migrations: Resistance and Endurance” in order to learn your history.
The show, choreographed by Professor Lynn Brooks and performed by Grant St. Dance Company and Zorzal Music Ensemble, with Lynn Gumert as Artistic Director, brings the dances of ancient cultures to life. The show features dances from the Golden Age of Spain, indigenous people of Central and South America, and the Sephardic Diaspora in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
The show is the product of a longstanding friendship and desire to work together between Brooks and the Zorzal Music Ensemble.
“In the course of my dance history research, I studied European baroque dance,” Brooks explained. “At one workshop, I befriended Marta Robertson, one of the musicians in Zorzal Music Ensemble, which focuses on the music of Spain and Latin America, from the 12th century to the present. Since my research interests overlapped with Marta’s (and Zorzal’s work), we vowed to find an opportunity to work together. Many years later, ‘Migrations’ is the result of that collaboration.”
According to Brooks, the history of the dances was very important to her in the making of the show. In the choreography, she sought to address many questions relating to recreation of historical dances.
“How much ‘authenticity’ is possible?” she asked. “How do you balance strict interpretation with theatrical viability? What if there are no sources for movement, but you love the music?”
As far as the question of authenticity goes, the dances in “Migrations” vary. Brooks, a dance historian, researched all of the cultures represented extensively.
“Significant research was involved into history, dance, and music of three cultures—early modern Spain, colonial Latin America, post-Expulsion Sephardim (Spanish Jews),” she explained. “Because of the longstanding research that I have done, and that the Zorzal musicians have done, led by their Artistic Director Lynn Gumert, we have already undertaken years of this research, but we certainly deepened and stretched that material in the course of our collaboration.”
However, Brooks did not let the dances be restricted by this information, or lack thereof.
“The dances vary in their degree of authenticity,” she said. “The Spanish material is the best documented, the Sephardic the least. In all cases, however, I would claim these dances as modern interpretations, but historically informed.”
The Grant Street Dance Company, a local dance group that performs around Pennsylvania, as well as the Zorzal Music Ensemble, will perform the show. Zorzal is a vocal and instrumental group that focuses on historic Spanish and Latin American music dating as far back as the 12th century. More on the group can be found at www.zorzal.com.
“Migrations” is also being performed at Dickinson College and Gettysburg College. For more information, contact Lynn Brooks atlynn.brooks@fandm.edu. Due to snow cancelations, “Migrations: Resistance and Endurance,” will be rescheduled for later on in the semester. For updates, check out Encore Events Calendar online at encore.fandm.edu.
First-year Cheryl Tourigny is a staff writer. Her e-mail is cheryl.tourigny@fandm.edu.
